Israeli startups raise $500m in February

Startups have raised $760 million so far in 2018, after the record $5.24 billion raised by Israeli startups in 2017.

Israeli startups raised over $500 million during February, according to press releases issued by companies that have completed financing rounds. The figure may be more as some companies prefer not to publicize the investments they have received. This figure follows a sluggish start to 2018 when Israeli startups only managed to raise $260 million.

This month's figure would put Israeli startups back on course to beat the record $5.24 billion raised in 2017, according to IVC-ZAG, which was up from $4.8 billion in 2016, which was itself a record.

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Half of February's figure was due to debt raised by fintech startups rather than venture capital investments. Behalf, which provides short-term loans and working capital to small and medium-sized businesses in the US, completed a $150 million debt issue, led by Soros Management Fund and the Viola Credit fund, while asset management company Pagaya investments raised $75 million in debt from Citi Group. Blender Global, which has developed a platform for digital loans, raised $16 million in capital and debt from Blumberg Capital, and European Eiffel Investment Group.

Other major financing rounds in February included $50 million raised by urban mobility company Moovit in a round led by Intel Capital. OrCam Technologies, which was founded by the same duo that founded Mobileye, raised $30.4 million for its wearable aid for people with impaired vision. B2B payments company Tipalti raised $30 million, grocery delivery company Sensible Robotics raised $20 million and cybersecurity company CyberX raised $18 million.